time comes undone

I’m not going to lie to you, I didn’t see many new movies in ‘07. But of the ones that I did see, I chose very wisely.

#1: King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters

Hands down favorite of ‘07 and maybe the decade so far. Yes, this is a documentary about classic video games, and I love gamer culture, so clearly it was made for me. But wait just a minute! The appeal of this movie stretches way beyond the niche community it portrays. It is smart, cleverly edited, full of drama and narrative arc, and frequently hilarious. It shines a light on the very insular scene of aging arcade nerds, who are already intrinsically one of the most quirky, interesting bunch of characters a filmmaker could hope to record. But on top of that rich foundation, they manage to build a solid storyline, filled with so much wit and charm as to seem scripted, and concluding with a climax that actually made me hold my breath.

The story is about a schoolteacher who loses his job and decides to start training to challenge the 20 year-old world record for the top score of Donkey Kong. The filmmakers set this up as a rivalry between the schoolteacher, Steve Wiebe, and the record holder, Billy Mitchell, but they don’t have to do much work. You would not believe the level of intensity, intrigue, and dirty tricks plaguing this small community of classic gaming competitors. Honestly I expected Tonya Harding’s bf to pop out of the bushes and break Steve Wiebe’s wrists at some point! Billy and Steve epitomize the champion and underdog archetypes so wholly that you have to wonder if they aren’t deliberately exaggerating such characteristics at a subconscious level, in some sort of postmodern caricature-reality.

Favorite moments:

- When the non-contender nerd realizes Steve is about to exhaust the game’s physical memory, and excitedly runs around the arcade shouting: We’ve got a kill screen coming up people!! Kill screen, kill screen, OMG kill screen!!

- Steve’s 4 year old asking why he plays Donkey Kong, and the child remarking with total innocence that “some people ruin their lives for it”

- Billy’s famous abortion quote (can be seen at the end of the trailer)

The best thing about King of Kong is that even though you *know* it’s emotionally manipulative, you can’t help but give in and invest in these flawed, idiosyncratic people who are so deeply involved in their fringe little activities. It makes one want to pilgrimage to the Funspot Arcade just to shake hands with these big fish in their small pond. This movie is the definition of precious.

#2: Into the Wild

In a film where the main character renounces money and abandons all material possessions, and especially coming from Sean Penn, you might expect it to be a heavy handed indictment of consumerism or other capitalism begotten -ism. I didn’t feel that that is what this film was about at all, or that the political subtext was in any way related to its appeal. It’s really just an adventure movie about the people met and relationships forged along the way, with the dramatic natural scenery and the tolerably annoying music of Eddie Vedder weaved in.

I was so pleased to see the academy give the nod to Hal Holbrook for that heartbreaking scene where he and the boy part. It was poignant and sincere, and so incredibly sad. It was a picture of the moment of an isolated retiree who had caught a glimpse of what it was like to feel a human connection again, having to say goodbye and trudge back to the stagnation and loneliness that plagues so many of our elderly. Of course they don’t have the monopoly on either stagnation or loneliness, or else it wouldn’t be such an affecting scene for all of us.

I think that what the boy in this movie did — cut all ties and embrace the freedom of wandering — has an appeal that most of us can relate to. Who hasn’t felt the impulse to abandon everything, leave current worries, and escape the oppressive weight of the Expected Path (school -> career -> marriage -> death). When you’re living in a society where you must request and schedule in advance time for you to be outside in the sun following your own whimsy, it’s confusing and absurd at a fundamental level. That feeling of bewilderment, followed by the liberation of action, is what this movie portrays, culminating in the ultimate freedom.